Passengers aboard an Antrak Air flight from Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana to the capital Accra escaped death when the pilot navigated a faulty airplane to safe-landing in Tamale.

One of the engines of the airplane caught fire, mid-air, according to Mr. Charles Nyaaba, a passenger on the plane.

This caused one of the fans of the plane to stop functioning, he said.

The pilot quickly returned to Tamale and managed to land safely.

Mr. Nyaaba said panic-stricken passengers prayed and wailed whilst the pilot navigated the faulty airplane to try and save their lives.

He told Myjoyonline.com that the bewildered passengers are scrambling to reach their family members.

They do not know what alternative plans are being made to convey them to Accra.

Flight attendants are tight-lipped over the incident.

Chief Commercial Officer of Antrak Air, Mr. Antwi Boasiako, in a release later, explained “there was a fire incident on one engine of Antrak aircraft with registration number EC-KUL, enroute from Tamale to Accra”.

“The Captain detected the fire 20 minutes into the flight and returned safely to land at the Tamale airport. There was no injury or casualty. The aircraft, manufactured in 2008, is operated for Antrak by Swiftair of Spain.

We will update the public once investigations into the incident have been completed by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. We will not be making any further comments on the incident.

At this point, our priority is to make alternative travel arrangements for passengers who will be affected by the grounding of this aircraft. We have started contacting all affected passengers. For additional travel information or enquiries, passengers may contact us on 0302745514. Thank you.”